Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To make an accusation against.
  • transitive verb To bring formal charges against (a public official) for wrongdoing while in office.
  • transitive verb To raise doubts about; discredit or disparage.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as impeachment.
  • To hinder; impede.
  • To call in question; accuse of wrong or error; bring discredit on; disparage; accuse: as, to impeach one's motives; to impeach the credit of a witness.
  • Specifically, to prefer charges of official misconduct against, before a competent tribunal; bring to account by trial for malfeasance in office. See impeachment, 3.
  • To call to account; charge as answerable.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete Hindrance; impeachment.
  • transitive verb obsolete To hinder; to impede; to prevent.
  • transitive verb To charge with a crime or misdemeanor; to accuse; especially to charge (a public officer), before a competent tribunal, with misbehavior in office; to cite before a tribunal for judgment of official misconduct; to arraign. See Impeachment.
  • transitive verb Hence, to charge with impropriety; to dishonor; to bring discredit on; to call in question.
  • transitive verb (Law) To challenge or discredit the credibility of, as of a witness, or the validity of, as of commercial paper.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To hinder.
  • verb To bring a legal proceeding against a public official, asserting that because he or she committed some offense, he or she should be removed from office.
  • verb To discredit an individual or group with presumed expertise.
  • verb law To demonstrate in court that a testimony under oath contradicts another testimony from the same person, usually one taken during deposition.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb challenge the honesty or veracity of
  • verb bring an accusation against; level a charge against
  • verb charge (a public official) with an offense or misdemeanor committed while in office

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English empechen, to impede, accuse, from Anglo-Norman empecher, from Late Latin impedicāre, to entangle : Latin in-, in; see in– + Latin pedica, fetter; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

French empêcher ("hinder"), from Latin impedicare ("fetter")

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  • October 22, 2007